Columbia's Galinsky Tells BRITE: Inspiring Leaders Are Made, Not Born

Adam Galinsky used Columbia Business School's BRITE Conference to argue that inspiring leadership is four teachable behaviors. The Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics packaged the claim in his new book "INSPIRE: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others" (HarperCollins). Calm, courageous, generous, and optimistic conduct, he told brand executives, sits opposite anxious, self-serving conduct.

The talk, hosted by CBS's Center on Global Brand Leadership, drew applause for a VEM framework—Visionary, Exemplar, Mentor. Each role, Galinsky said, maps to a basic human need: meaning, safety, and belonging. The framework sounds tidy on paper. Whether it advances the management literature beyond Burns or Heifetz is a separate question.

The four tenets form a tidy arc: occupy a point on the inspiring-infuriating continuum daily, master the VEM triad, recognize leadership as learned, and practice the REIP loop. Within that arc, Galinsky treats vision as a decision-making compass and asks leaders to compress their message into a vivid, repeatable idea. The structure reads more like a consulting deck than a research program.

Where is the original research?

Galinsky cited no peer-reviewed studies from the BRITE stage. His claims rest on what he calls "research-backed insights," a phrase that, in management writing, often signals synthesis rather than original data. The book's subtitle promises a "universal path"—a sweeping claim that invites skepticism.

What does the Shults-Schettino comparison actually prove?

Galinsky's contrast cases illustrate his point, but they reveal something starker than he lets on. Captain Tammie Jo Shults landed Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 on April 17, 2018, after an engine failure tore through a passenger window. Her message to passengers—"We're not going down; we're going to Philly"—became shorthand for composure under pressure.

Captain Francesco Schettino ran the Costa Concordia aground off Giglio Island on January 13, 2012, killing 32 people. He then abandoned ship and was convicted of manslaughter. Galinsky framed the two captains as endpoints on a behavior continuum. One captain held decades of training; the other committed a crime. The lesson may be character, not an acronym.

Can REIP actually move behavior?

Galinsky's practice framework—Reflect, Emulate, Intend, Practice—mirrors the cadence of any executive coaching program. Reflect on inspiring moments. Emulate role models. Set intentions. Practice daily. He told attendees: "None of us are perfect. You want to be accountable, but you don't want to be too hard on yourself." That line flatters an audience that paid to attend.

The claim that inspiration is "not a one-time event—it's a habit" reads as motivational filler. Galinsky is selling a book. He is also correctly identifying that leadership development is a long-term practice rather than a workshop download. Both can be true at once.

Earlier, he offered a sharper line: "People aren't objects. We've got to treat them like people." That point survives any skepticism test. Treating subordinates as instrumental assets is where most workplace dysfunction begins.

What does this change for executives?

BRITE attendees will leave with a vocabulary: VEM, REIP, the inspiring-infuriating continuum. Whether they leave with changed behavior depends on what they did before the talk. The framework is descriptive, not prescriptive in any quantitative sense.

A company running it as a leadership curriculum should measure retention, engagement scores, and 360-degree reviews before and after—then publish the results. The book is available now. The proof, if it arrives, will come from the next decade of management research.